You don't marry someone you can live with — you marry someone you cannot live without.

-Unknown

Erin laid her head on her husband's knees, but she couldn't relax. Thoughts of Dave's birthday present wouldn't leave her alone. When he went to the bathroom, she called the gift shop and arranged to have the package left on the porch. The problem was, he wasn't going to leave her alone long enough to go get it.

"There's something great about this," Dave said, he let out a contented sigh and flipped through the TV channels. They had finished a Hallmark movie and he snatched the remote before the channel could funnel another cheesy love story into his living room. His feet were kicked back on the ottoman and Erin's head rested in his lap. Cake plates covered in crumbs of chocolate cake sat on the tables on either end of the sofa.

"It almost feels like retirement…" Dave continued. "I can do whatever I want...there's no clock to punch…"

"You always do whatever you want-" Erin said.

"Good point." He agreed, flipping past Sportscaster and the Food Network. Finally he landed on a rerun of I Love Lucy. The black and white show never failed to make him smile.

"There's so much to do," Erin said, the dishes in the kitchen sink called to her and the cake plates were a glaring display of the fact that she hadn't moved in two hours.

"There's nothing to do." He countered, sinking further into the sofa.

"How did my health scare turn into your vacation?"

"It's in the wedding vows."

"Oh yeah, where?"

"The better part. What could be better than spending a nice, cozy relaxing evening doing absolutely nothing but enjoying time with my bride? Don't think about the dishes. I'll load the dishwasher before I go to bed. Just lie back and enjoy the movies and my magic fingers. That's the best birthday present you can give me, taking care of yourself and the Dynamic Duo." Dave said as he lightly massaged her scalp.

"That's a new one, how do you come up with these nicknames?"

"I'm a writer." He shrugged, nonchalant. "It happens."

"You're a good husband," she relented, "a good father too."

"I know." He shifted slightly so he could reach over and massage her temples.

"That ego…" Erin scolded lightly, but his firm touch was heavenly.

"Has served me well..." He said, finishing her thought.

"Listen …" she said quietly and sat up to face him, "I know you judge me." She paused to gather her was finally able to picture her life with their babies, no matter how crazy she felt before, she knew, deep in her heart that they would be bringing their babies home. David deserved an explanation. "I know you think I don't want these babies and you judge me because I distanced myself from them. David, I hope you know that's not true."

"Stop!" He said sharply, "You're a wonderful mother. You were afraid, I was scared too." He admitted, "but we can't sit here beating ourselves up about it."

"I want them," she said and leaned against him. "I always have."

"I know-" He waited a beat, a commercial flashed across the tv. "They're starting to feel more real to me too."

"Really?"

"They'll have your smile…" he said, holding her hand.

"And your complexion. I hope they look like you," Erin added.

He reached over and tucked a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear. "We know they won't be blonde," he said with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

"You're so rude!" She admonished, the sound of laughter rang through the house.

"But you love me," he boasted. Cradling her face between his hands.

"So much," she answered and pecked him on the lips.

The chime of the doorbell interrupted them, a second later, Erin's phone vibrated with a text message, she glanced at the screen without opening the message. The store owner had dropped off her package.

"Are you expecting company?" She teased.

"No." He kissed her again, "are you?"

"Come on," she took his hand and stood up. "Let's go see who's there."

"You're awfully giddy," Dave said, surprised. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing." She opened the door and grabbed the beautifully wrapped box off the porch and handed it to him. The Mylar balloons tied around the box were a nice touch and completely worth the extra money she spent.

"What's this?" Dave asked, without taking the box.

She stared at him as if to say, 'okay stupid what do you think it is?' "Are you going to sit down and open it?" She asked, holding it out to him.

"Erin, what did you do?"

"Look," she took him by the arm and pulled him towards the couch. "I know how you feel about your birthday, I just thought…" She stopped when she saw the expression on his face. It wasn't the expression she was hoping for.

"Come on Erin, you know my thoughts on this." He said, the words spilled out harsher than intended, but his birthday didn't belong to him anymore. It was reserved for the victims of Tommy Yates and that wasn't an occasion to buy presents and balloons.

"Yes, I do," She countered. "You're always celebrating other people, just once, I wanted to celebrate you."

He was always the first person to volunteer to throw a party, a wedding on a random Sunday, it didn't matter to him as long as the people he loved, felt loved. Now, she wanted to return the favor.

"We don't celebrate my birthday-"

"Your birthday isn't for three days," she said crossing her arms stubbornly. "Just open the damn box and stop trying to raise my blood pressure."

"Yeah yeah, go on and pull that card," he grumbled, taking the box from her hands. "You fight dirty." He said, peeling back the paper. Under the shiny paper was a box, he held it up to his ear and gave it an experimental shake. Erin watched him, expectantly, suddenly, he'd gone from the Grinch to a little boy on Christmas morning.

"I'm going to feel like an ass if I bit your head off over a tie." He said, peeling back the tape that sealed the box.

"Oh, I can assure you that you're going to feel like an ass."

He looked up slightly, "so it's not a tie?"

"No, it's not a tie. Do you really think I'd allow you to bite my head off over a tie, when you have 30 of them in your closet?"

"So, it's something important then?"

"I think it's important," she said with a shrug. "Open it and find out."

He ripped the tape from the side of the box and lifted the lid. Inside, he found a velvet box on top of some white tissue paper, "Last I checked, I'm the one who's supposed to hand out the jewelry." He said, picking up the small box.

"Would you please stop making snide comments and open it?" Erin asked, perching beside him on the arm of the couch. He lifted the lid, inside was a beautiful pair of gunmetal cufflinks in the shape of a celtic love knot. They weren't something he would have picked out for himself, but he would be sure to wear them the next time he wore a tux. "They're nice." He said softly, "very nice. Thank you."

"They'll look great with your tux and you can pass them down."

"Oh, I see…" he joked, "you want to make sure I have nice things so the kids have something to inherit."

She swatted his arm so quickly that she almost fell off the arm of the couch. "You know that's not true." She said, straightening up.

"If I didn't, I couldn't make that joke." He grabbed her leg to hold her steady until she was sitting securely.

"The cufflinks are from me, but there's something else in the box."

"Tell me it's not socks-"

"Again, you have 50 pairs. Why would I buy you socks?"

"Boxers?" He asked, arching a brow.

"Yes, David, I bought you boxers because your underwear comes from a custom store, oh, wait. They do" She crossed her arms, "I forgot who I was talking to." She said, referencing his wardrobe full of monogrammed attire.

"I'm teasing." He said, pulling back the tissue paper. Underneath, he found two mint green onesies with the 'Double mint gum' logo across the front and two identical, crocheted green and white hats. He glanced up at his wife, she remembered everything he ever said about their twins. Including that silly nickname that didn't roll off the tongue so easily.

"I had them made a while ago, I thought they could wear them home from the hospital."

"You were right." He reached up and put his hand on her thigh. "I do feel like an ass."

"Then my job is complete." She teased her husband.

Dave sat back, with his arm around his wife. "New babies and new cufflinks, what more could a man ask for?"

Erin giggled and said, "I don't know, but Christmas is going to be hard to beat."

"Oh that's the easy part," he said and patted her stomach. "Just hold them in till then."

"Twins usually come early, I'll be happy if we make it to December," Erin said.

"Most twins don't have this beautiful piece of prime real estate," he said, running the palm of his hand down her abdomen. "You'll be lucky to get them out on time, in January."

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